Typhon

Chapter 16

Rylee~

I could feel their stares like I had the Scarlet Letter A stamped on my forehead. All afternoon, I'd been in the library with my head down, trying to study, but people were eyeballing me everywhere that I went ever since Stone's obnoxious display of ownership yesterday.

After my Data Structures class, social media had started lighting up like people were announcing the second coming of Jesus Christ. My phone had been bombarded with dozens of notifications and texts, people wanting to know if the rumors were true. Then, when Stone had changed his social media accounts to show that he was in a relationship with me, there'd been no stopping the snowball of gossip rolling down behind me, threatening to crush me.

It hadn't been my definition of going slow.

My only saving grace was that Stone had labeled me his girlfriend and not his fiancé, though there had been some comments about the diamond on my ring finger. However, with neither me nor Stone confirming it, people had been left wondering.

Then there was also all the fakeness that had started emerging. Suddenly, people that had never spoken to me in all the years that I'd been going to Hales were waving at me, sending me friend requests, or following me on social media. However, the only new requests that I had accepted had been from Kincaid, Alexis, Jennifer, Ross Carmichael, Saxton Voss, Stone Lexington, and Fox Harrington. Plus, if being linked to Stone hadn't been enough to spark people's interests, being linked to Ross, Saxton, Kincaid, and Fox had been sure to throw me into a new popularity stratosphere.

Also, though I had no idea how Alexis and Jennifer were handling all the craziness with The Order, their situations weren't like mine. They weren't contracted to marry their sponsors.

I felt him before I saw him.

That's what he did to me.

That's what this crazy thing between us felt like.

I'd felt it when I had run into him last week, but now with the knowledge that Stone wanted me, the sensation of having him near felt so much stronger and dangerous than I ever imagined it could be. I needed to keep a level head about me before I got caught up in the likes of Stone Lexington because the guy had heartbreak written all over him.

His woodsy cologne invaded my senses before his ass hit the chair next to me, and it was just as distracting as the man wearing it.

"This isn't exactly what I would call space," I grumbled quietly, knowing that everyone was staring at us without even having to look up.

"I left you alone after your Data Structures class yesterday," he pointed out, remarking on his efforts.

I looked over at him, and his looks made it very hard to concentrate. "And immediately went on social media and turned my entire world upside down."

The bastard smirked right before leaning into my neck. His breath was warm on my skin as he said, "Rylee, you haven't seen anything yet."

I couldn't stop the tiny moan that escaped. "Stone, we're in the university library," I reminded him. "Behave."

His chuckle tickled my neck, and I knew-I just knew-that I was going to fall hard for this guy.

Stone pulled back and at least had the decency to keep his voice library appropriate. "I'm actually here to ask you a serious question."

My eyes narrowed because I wasn't buying it. "What?"

"How are we supposed to get to know each other better if I'm supposed to give you space?" His arm came to rest on the back of my chair, then his fingers danced along the base of my neck, giving me visible shivers. "Seems like a contradiction, don't you think?"